Bioware has created what could go down as the worst "RPG" ever made. Of course, I have to say RPG in quotations, because all RPG elements have been stripped. It is a "role playing" game I guess, but that role is a very strict one laid down by Bethesda. There are no choices to make now, as has become a Bethesda trademark, and very few dialogue trees. The dialogue now is just a linearBioware has created what could go down as the worst "RPG" ever made. Of course, I have to say RPG in quotations, because all RPG elements have been stripped. It is a "role playing" game I guess, but that role is a very strict one laid down by Bethesda. There are no choices to make now, as has become a Bethesda trademark, and very few dialogue trees. The dialogue now is just a linear rambling between two bored sounding cookie cutter people, and the instead of influencing the conversation, you are only allowed to select whether the character will do the conversation angry, soft, or sarcastic.

Gone is any hint of stategy of depth to combat. The game is a click fest, a poor mans devil may cry, that requires no skill to beat on hard or lower difficulties. On nightmare, a mode they obviously ran out of time on balancing, is just frustratingly impossible, not because it provides a good challenge, but because instead of balancing it, they just added 10000hp to every enemy and said "done".

The graphics represent and huge step back not only from Dragon Age origins, but for the whole generation. This looks like something you'd find on the Playstation 2. The game lacks any art direction, and any sense for colors other than brown.

Dragon Age 2 is not only a huge step back for the series, but a huge step back for video games in general. The dumbing down of the series marks the biggest leap in what has become a trend in video game design. I can only hope that Bioware listens to the fans after this outing and, pun intended, return to their origins as RPG designers in their next outing.…Expand

I'm totally disappointed. Simplified combat, recycled and small enviroments, weak dialogues. No isometric view. Bad character graphic (they look way worse than those from Dragon Age!) and animation (completely unrealistic - mage is turning left and right while casting a spell and characters that jump all the time while attacking - such animation is not 'cool and awesome' but stupid, thisI'm totally disappointed. Simplified combat, recycled and small enviroments, weak dialogues. No isometric view. Bad character graphic (they look way worse than those from Dragon Age!) and animation (completely unrealistic - mage is turning left and right while casting a spell and characters that jump all the time while attacking - such animation is not 'cool and awesome' but stupid, this is not Devil May Cry). Also, no possibility of changing armour for anyone else than main character and enemies spawning behind player in most stupid locations are unbelivably annoying. Dragon Age: Origins was a truly epic RPG game. Don't believe critic reviews of Dragon Age II. DA II is just another action game for consoles (and imported for PC) that simply lacks depth in every field. It is a perfect example of ruining a game instead of improving it. Sometimes it just looks like a really bad Fable clone...…Expand

Sadly, yet another developer has abandoned their PC core game base for the mass appeal of the console. Bioware games have historically been extremely deep, really customizable games, with a strong focus on tactics and strategy. The industry as a whole has been moving away from these kind of games because of the increased profitability games have on console, and the simplistic consoleSadly, yet another developer has abandoned their PC core game base for the mass appeal of the console. Bioware games have historically been extremely deep, really customizable games, with a strong focus on tactics and strategy. The industry as a whole has been moving away from these kind of games because of the increased profitability games have on console, and the simplistic console controls limit what developers can do. Dragon Age seemed to be one of the last remaining franchises truly designed to be a hardcore RPG gamer's type of game. However, the console has struck again, and we are left with Dragon Age 2, a game that does nothing but let down Bioware's long standing fanbase and fans of the genre. Let me preface this by saying that if you aren't familiar with Bioware games (aside from Mass Effect), like hack and slash type games, and are a console gamer, chances are you will enjoy this game. However, to the rest of us, this game signifies everything that is wrong with the market and the way gaming is headed. The depth of PC games of old is dead, and Bioware is no longer doing anything to prevent it.…Expand

I gave this game an average 5 before because I liked many aspects but felt it didn't impress me. But now I am greatly disturbed by Bioware employees REVIEWING THEIR OWN GAMES. For Shame Bioware. This is deceptive marketing. So this game gets a 1 for Bioware committing what I consider to be fraud.

the only GOOD thing about this game that i was lucky enough to sell it off to someone... bet they will hate me after they star playing this POS..the first game was an AMAZING experience and this one was piece of crap.. no wonder when a bioware dude in an interview says "Button = AWESOME".. only a crappy game can come out of it then

It's wholly unfair to judge an entertainment product without taking the time to complete and evaluate it on its own terms; if one had skipped the finale to Lars Von Trier's masterful "Dogville," for instance, and judged it merely on its (somewhat dull) first two thirds, the criticisms one would level against it, while technically accurate, would be unfounded and unfair. Here lies myIt's wholly unfair to judge an entertainment product without taking the time to complete and evaluate it on its own terms; if one had skipped the finale to Lars Von Trier's masterful "Dogville," for instance, and judged it merely on its (somewhat dull) first two thirds, the criticisms one would level against it, while technically accurate, would be unfounded and unfair. Here lies my biggest issue with many of the first "0" reviews on Metacritic; unless these gamers live outside our time-space continuum, I cannot fathom how they could have had the time to fully evaluate the game, much less finish it. This damages the impression of many of these reviewers as it sets them up as soapbox preaching whiners who the vast populace should ignore, as well as their opinions.

That said, I have just completed "Dragon Age II" for the PC. And yes, every complaint railed against it is pretty much dead on: Brain-dead combat that fits the PC like a children's mitten on a camel (the lack of controller support is positively nonsensical), generic writing (at best), weak characterization, massive amounts of retconning (don't expect your save game from Origins/Awakening to matter in the slightest), mostly unreactive world, atrocious, "Saturday morning cartoon" art design (even WITH the texture pack) and a plot that barely even exists. Huzzah EA, you've successfully destroyed the final AAA RPG manufacturer in the world. Congrats. Would you like a cookie?

Do not buy this game. Please. EA does not need your money.

Well, unless you wish to buy my used copy on Amazon. If so, do buy it so that I can be rid of this abomination. Speaking of abominations, time to go fight some in Origins.…Expand

Turned an unrefined RPG with a lot of promise into a hack-and-slash with a color coded dialog system which gives you the ability to be, good, bad or stupid. I was expecting something better, having felt DA:O I had expectations for improvements and create something pretty amazing. It's not a bad game, it's mediocre, EA and Bioware should learn to under promise and over deliver not, overTurned an unrefined RPG with a lot of promise into a hack-and-slash with a color coded dialog system which gives you the ability to be, good, bad or stupid. I was expecting something better, having felt DA:O I had expectations for improvements and create something pretty amazing. It's not a bad game, it's mediocre, EA and Bioware should learn to under promise and over deliver not, over promise and under deliver. If you like God-Of-War, but find it too complex, pretty and polished, you might want to consider buying DA2.…Expand

Wow, DA:O is my 4th favorite game of all time and this "Sequel" / pile of dog barf makes me wish that i had completely avoided it. Be warned if you like RPGs, Interesting stories, and engaging combat look elsewhere. However if you like casual button-mashing garbage, and picking 3 of the same "choices", please by all means go out and spend 60 dollars on this aborted fetus of a game. My eyesWow, DA:O is my 4th favorite game of all time and this "Sequel" / pile of dog barf makes me wish that i had completely avoided it. Be warned if you like RPGs, Interesting stories, and engaging combat look elsewhere. However if you like casual button-mashing garbage, and picking 3 of the same "choices", please by all means go out and spend 60 dollars on this aborted fetus of a game. My eyes strained to make sense of the "art direction". This was like staring into Rumor Willis' face while getting beaten with a sock filled with quarters and being castrated. I would rather stare into the sun for 5 hours until my eyeballs dried into tiny protein raisins, take them out of their sockets and insert them into my colon than have to play 10 more seconds of this game. What the hell was Bioware thinking?

I can only hope to god that Laidlaw, and Gaider were just shooting up coke and saying "Hey know what would be really funny! Trolling all of our fans in a sad attempt to gain new ones while ostracizing the original ones!" Because no sane being would ever have let this pile of aborted llama fetuses ever escape from the planes of Peru. Avoid. Avoid at all cost. If you want bioware to actually make good games instead of this crap don't buy it and send them a message that you wont just gobble up this vomit because they slapped their name on it. Don't let all those "Biodrones" tell you otherwise. anyone who pledges loyalty to a company that only cares about profit isn't worth listening to. Again.

Bland characters, soap opera dialogs, no choice of playable back-story or race. Combat system looks like a bloody jRPG with over-sized weapons swung at supersonic speed. Sometimes when you hit an opponent with 2h sword he vaporises into a tiny blood cloud and only his shoes are left standing... (I'm serious) T_T this game is a joke - a bad, bad joke that just makes me wanna play theBland characters, soap opera dialogs, no choice of playable back-story or race. Combat system looks like a bloody jRPG with over-sized weapons swung at supersonic speed. Sometimes when you hit an opponent with 2h sword he vaporises into a tiny blood cloud and only his shoes are left standing... (I'm serious) T_T this game is a joke - a bad, bad joke that just makes me wanna play the sh**tiest DLC from the first one and forget about that nightmare of a sequel.…Expand

I still do not believe in like Bioware sold out so well for EA, and transform one of the best RPGs of all time in a toxic **** like DA2 specially made based on the consoles, and the worst is that I played all versions and all are garbage.

The game is really bad and it seems Bioware became superlazy and EA ruined another great title thanks to their marketing efforts. I dont know even where to begin

1. Side quests are too short and similar...Kill this kill that , delivery this deliver that
2. Inventory sucks , all items look the same , only colours ...are different
3. Serious performance issues on high end PCs (GTX 480 andThe game is really bad and it seems Bioware became superlazy and EA ruined another great title thanks to their marketing efforts. I dont know even where to begin

1. Side quests are too short and similar...Kill this kill that , delivery this deliver that2. Inventory sucks , all items look the same , only colours ...are different3. Serious performance issues on high end PCs (GTX 480 and Core i7 920 max FPS is 30-35)4. Its all too simplified , no tactics, no skilled battles, just slash enemies and heal yourself5. Time change from day to night with mouse click! seriously????6. Female Hawke voice is the same as her sister's voice. I was shocked and disappointed by this7. A lot of issues with quests which might become unavailable if you do something differently ( Dont believe me? open README file , scroll down to the bottom and see for yourself8. Horrible journal and codex , just a plain dull text with ugly and small font. No pictures, no bestiary images , nothing!!!

In summary, it seems the game had great potential, interseting story and charchters BUT 2 years is to little for an RPG game. Bioware ruined amazing franchise and I lost money. Do yourself and your wallet a favour and dont buy it. Dont get me wrong I really loved DA and DAO but this game has only one thing in common. Its called Dragon Age 2…Expand

Having been a long time wrpg fan, Dragons Age: Origins established what looked to be a great new IP breaking away from frankly tired D&D conventions. I have just finished DA2 which took a little under 16 hours, and I fear for the future of this brand. Graphically DA2 looks almost identical to DA:O origins which isn't unexpected given the very quick development time. Main characters lookHaving been a long time wrpg fan, Dragons Age: Origins established what looked to be a great new IP breaking away from frankly tired D&D conventions. I have just finished DA2 which took a little under 16 hours, and I fear for the future of this brand. Graphically DA2 looks almost identical to DA:O origins which isn't unexpected given the very quick development time. Main characters look great but scenery, NPCs and unfortunately some armor and weapons suffer from hideously low resolution textures and low polygon counts. DA2 has also developed some sort of gore fixation with every kill resulting in an exploding enemy flinging litres of blood around and staining the screen with modern warfare-esque decals over the hud. Performance with the PC version was schizophrenic - FPS changing drastically in areas containing little detail, I would guess some internal face culling was skipped in the development process.

The voice acting suffers compared to DA:O, unfortunately I would probably link this to the quick development time as well. The male Hawke delivers the majority of his lines with a lack of expression or enthusiasm which is often unintentionally hilarious when coupled with dramatic player animations. The mass-effect conversational wheel could have been a worthy addition if it was made clear what the player was going to actually say. I found the conversations similar to alpha protocol in this respect, the main character often saying things you did not intend for them to say.

Most disappointing to me is the lack of player choice and provisions for role playing. Many quests are initiated with the typical "Get this item/person from here and bring it back/kill them" line from an npc with your responses limited to 2 or 3 ways to say "yes" with limited occasions where you can refuse quests or hold out for more rewards etc etc...

Combat is more or less similar to DA:O with the need to flank targets strangely removed, with characters flipping in to backstab then flipping back out again. Quite unusual given the mechanics established in the original. I can't help but think the simplification of some elements of combat removes some of what made DA:O great in the first place.

There are other issues regarding some cringe worthy pop culture references, the bland story, repeated dungeons and your two dimensional companions, but to be honest, I'd rather forget about this experience and hope that this misstep by bioware doesn't kill off the future of this franchise.…Expand

New, bold and engaging with addictive combat. Interesting and compelling characters, like Origins. Much more intelligent than the ads would make you think.

Having played Origins, I was not expecting the more action-based combat to be very good, but it was surprisingly enjoyable and maintained the same level of tactics as Origins (though I admit I don't like to micromanage my party'sNew, bold and engaging with addictive combat. Interesting and compelling characters, like Origins. Much more intelligent than the ads would make you think.

Having played Origins, I was not expecting the more action-based combat to be very good, but it was surprisingly enjoyable and maintained the same level of tactics as Origins (though I admit I don't like to micromanage my party's actions). Exploring all of the side-quests, I think I got a bit too powerful by the end and had to turn up the difficulty to make it more challenging, but it was always fun.

The plot was a refreshing change from the 'save the world from the ultimate evil' plots that you see so often in fantasy games. Make the entire story based around a single location provided a nice focus, and made the story feel much more personal.

The explorer in me was a bit saddened by the re-use of level graphics in many occasions, but the characters, situations, gameplay and quests themselves made up for it in the most part. The graphics and environments are simply beautiful.

Items and equipment got some nice improvements (I've always hated sorting through piles of junky items like you are forced to in some other games). The only minor point about this that I didn't like so much was not being able to customize the armour of my party members.

In summary, this may not be a "hard-core RPG" (a fact that some people can't seem to forgive), but it's a great RPG that has a synergy of a lot of good elements that make Dragon Age 2 stands very well on it's own as it keeps you coming back for more.…Expand

Yeah, yeah, yeah....a slap for real fans of DA"O. Congratulations to everyone screaming "oh this is so bad, this is not DA, I want my money back...The true is this game is very good and your "reviews" don't mean anything because fans of DA:O aren't stupid enough to abandon buying game just because of this fake "zero-rate spam".
And about game: It's awesome! The combat is more dynamic thanYeah, yeah, yeah....a slap for real fans of DA"O. Congratulations to everyone screaming "oh this is so bad, this is not DA, I want my money back...The true is this game is very good and your "reviews" don't mean anything because fans of DA:O aren't stupid enough to abandon buying game just because of this fake "zero-rate spam".
And about game: It's awesome! The combat is more dynamic than in first DA but it's still strategic and hard. For now I can't rate whole plot because I haven't finished it yet but for now it looks really good.
For me it's 9,5/10 - the same as first DA. Don't trust trolls, try it on your own :)…Expand

What an utter disappointment. DA 2 feels like god of war. I have trouble even calling it a real role playing game, conversation options are simple and dumbed down, decision making is relatively unimportant, gameplay remains quite linear. The world is small, the story uninspiring, the voice acting is some of Bioware's worst. As far as combat goes, it really feels dumbed down from DA:OWhat an utter disappointment. DA 2 feels like god of war. I have trouble even calling it a real role playing game, conversation options are simple and dumbed down, decision making is relatively unimportant, gameplay remains quite linear. The world is small, the story uninspiring, the voice acting is some of Bioware's worst. As far as combat goes, it really feels dumbed down from DA:O (which already felt dumbed down to me). Animations are overdone and the art direction is absolutely ridiculous. To top it all off, levels are recycled to an absurd degree and the game runs like crap on Nvidia hardware despite not looking especially great.…Expand

This game is such a wasted potential. Bioware made a fortune off of preorders of fans of the original knowing full well that by over-streamlining the game and the pervasive console first attitude they would only alienate those fans. This game looks and sounds better than Orgins but that isn't what I want out of a PC rpg, I want a massive world, mountains more stats, the ability to seeThis game is such a wasted potential. Bioware made a fortune off of preorders of fans of the original knowing full well that by over-streamlining the game and the pervasive console first attitude they would only alienate those fans. This game looks and sounds better than Orgins but that isn't what I want out of a PC rpg, I want a massive world, mountains more stats, the ability to see background calculations as they are happening and mod friendly design. Once again consoles **** things up for PC gamers who want a product that utilizes their machines full capabilities.…Expand

My feeling is that if your going to copy a Final Fantasy game make it FF7 rather than 12. To be honest Bioware should have had the decency to remove the party and go with a single protagonist, instead of perpetuating the farce that this is a sequel to a really good modern rpg. Take my advice, if your looking for an immersive, challenging and fun rpg experience with a great story go toMy feeling is that if your going to copy a Final Fantasy game make it FF7 rather than 12. To be honest Bioware should have had the decency to remove the party and go with a single protagonist, instead of perpetuating the farce that this is a sequel to a really good modern rpg. Take my advice, if your looking for an immersive, challenging and fun rpg experience with a great story go to GOG.com and buy Baldur's Gate 2. Hell, break out your old PS2 and fire up FF7, you'll thank me.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
While DA:O was actually interesting story wise, it really didn't have engaging combat.

But for DA2, it had amazing combat, but most of the time the quests are boring where waves upon waves of enemies are thrown at your repeatedly, and the story is sooo terrible. There isn't many places to explore either. It looks like Bioware didn't even try to do anything about the story.…Expand

Dragon Age: Origins was awesome. I like hack and slash games like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. DAO really sucked me into the fantasy world and combat. There was something in it that really was fun, addicting, and truly unique when I played it. The game kept me wanting more. Awakening was just more of what I needed. When I heard DA2 was coming out I couldn't be more excited. Finally theDragon Age: Origins was awesome. I like hack and slash games like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. DAO really sucked me into the fantasy world and combat. There was something in it that really was fun, addicting, and truly unique when I played it. The game kept me wanting more. Awakening was just more of what I needed. When I heard DA2 was coming out I couldn't be more excited. Finally the demo was released. OMG what the hell is this crap! Ok so I know I should expect a new look and updated combat and so forth unlike Fallout 3 to Fallout: New Vegas (should have been an expansion because it was the same damn game). At first it was kinda cool but then it really started to feel very cheap very quick. It felt like a fast action paced console button masher rather than a tactical team based RPG as the original. I think they tried to appeal to the mass of xbox and ps3 console gamers and completely undermined the loyal PC gamer and/or RPG fan. Based off the demo I will definitely skip this title. You know when your favorite band sells out? Seems like DA sold out unfortunately…Expand

I say briefly - this is not a RPG game, it's a true slasher. Beautiful, dramatic, easy slasher with a very simple plot. Epics? It is not. Romance? Very little. Tactics in battle? Minimal. Conversations with the characters - in its infancy.Make a better once more DLC for the first part, please.

In every single way DA2 is worst than DA:Origin. But it is a bit of injustice to give it less than 5/10. I know guys that you are disappointed. I expected something different too. In spite of all, it's still quite a good game, not perfect of course, not even near to perfect but it's still fun to play !

Not worth a full zero by any means, the game works after all, but as a matter of principle the game gets one anyway.

Combat and gameplay areas are endlessly repeated and monotonous, obvious budget cuts and rushed duedates by EA and lets not forget stripping away half of the mechanics for a streamlined massively effective experience.

Let me just start this by saying that Bioware games are usually pure gold. USUALLY. Dragon Age Origins was a well crafted RPG with great elements that far outweighed its many flaws. I cannot say the same for Dragon Age 2. I started the game thinking that I would be able to play it entirely maxed out graphically, after all, I more than exceed the recommended secs. When ramping up theLet me just start this by saying that Bioware games are usually pure gold. USUALLY. Dragon Age Origins was a well crafted RPG with great elements that far outweighed its many flaws. I cannot say the same for Dragon Age 2. I started the game thinking that I would be able to play it entirely maxed out graphically, after all, I more than exceed the recommended secs. When ramping up the graphics to very high with anti aliasing on, the game slows to a meager 11 frams per second with artifacts being rendered during combat. I can run Bad Company 2 on full specs, why can I not run this game that looks like it came from the PS2 era? Poor optimization because the game is rushed.

AND IT SHOWS. Not only in the graphics but in the discontinuity within the story, the poor writing, and the shallow combat system. Sure, everyone TOTALLY jumps around and does SUPER COOL things now to appeal to all the edgy teenagers out there, but most of the combat is horribly overdone. This can vary from the main character doing leaping lunges that you had nothing to do with, to enemies EXPLODING when I stab them with a basic ability. All in all, this game has been a huge disappointment. Between the rushed look and style of the game, the poor combat, the sub par writing and story, the awful optimization for PC, and the constant nickel and diming of day one DLC, this is one title you NEED to stay away from.…Expand

I'm sorry Bioware, but you just took the most promising video game IP of the past decade and completely destroyed it, whilst losing most of your loyal fans and supporters in the bargain.

The cosmetic changes and the combat revamp would have actually been fairly amazing if they had been implemented without watering the entire concept of a role-playing game down to the point where II'm sorry Bioware, but you just took the most promising video game IP of the past decade and completely destroyed it, whilst losing most of your loyal fans and supporters in the bargain.

The cosmetic changes and the combat revamp would have actually been fairly amazing if they had been implemented without watering the entire concept of a role-playing game down to the point where I literally can't continue playing past the ten hour mark without beginning to feel guilty'traitorous about doing so.

There is too much wrong here to forgive. The city where you spend 90% of the game is completely devoid of life. Constantly recycled maps. Dialogue wheel instead of real conversation options. Extremely limited loot/items. Lack of ability to fully customize companion gear. And that's just scratching the surface. (Magically instant respawning enemies zomg!)

It seems like everything you did with this game was aimed at having fewer options for the player. My question is....why? It is beyond asinine to limit the player's choices in a role-playing game. Creating and then fully fleshing out/realizing a character or party is what games in this genre are supposed to be about! If I wanted another point and click action RPG/ FPS, well, they're a dime a dozen these days. You guys were special because you were one of the last companies around still making REAL role-playing games.

And if that's not bad enough, on day 1 you're trying to charge players for in-game content instead of just...you know...putting it in the game to improve the experience for your customers.

Took me 18 hours to finish playing it to 100%. Most of that was traipsing around identical areas and fighting the same waves of enemies I fought since the beginning with larger health bars. The writing is mainly horrid much like the non-branching storyline. I don't think i've been quite this pissed about a game before. It starts out okay and just rolls downhill at a constant pace. GetsTook me 18 hours to finish playing it to 100%. Most of that was traipsing around identical areas and fighting the same waves of enemies I fought since the beginning with larger health bars. The writing is mainly horrid much like the non-branching storyline. I don't think i've been quite this pissed about a game before. It starts out okay and just rolls downhill at a constant pace. Gets even worse if you redo certain parts (or open the debug console) and realize there's almost no branching paths to speak of.…Expand

Big disappointment BioWare...we get a console port far inferior than DAO...huge mistake. We have a DX9 based game with less cameras, options and so on. I though you love gaming BioWare, and gaming on PC is by far the best for real gamers.

(skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro) As a PC gamer, DA:O was my introduction into RPGs. And I have to say, even getting started was daunting to me. I had envisioned a vast open world of freedom, choice, adventure and fun, based on the reviews I had read and all the buzz I had been hearing about the game. Instead what I got with the(skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro) As a PC gamer, DA:O was my introduction into RPGs. And I have to say, even getting started was daunting to me. I had envisioned a vast open world of freedom, choice, adventure and fun, based on the reviews I had read and all the buzz I had been hearing about the game. Instead what I got with the first Dragon Age was a linear, repetitive, unimaginative and boring affair where nothing really seemed to come alive and "choice" was a thinly-veiled illusion conjured up most ham-handedly by uninspired developers. Also I did not care for the looks of this world and its inhabitants, which does not help immersion one bit (bland lighting, unimpressive structures, flat and unexpressive faces, goofy armor, ...). What got me the most though was a thing called "level scaling". Gone is the thrill of slaying a beast that once seemed completely indomitable, after having spent hours "training" your characters in preparation for your revenge. Instead everything and everyone simply levels up along with you. Disgusting. Then along came DA2. From what I was reading this true sequel to the Dragon Age saga promised to be substantially different from DA:O, and I was excited. Even though DA:O was a huge letdown, it had kindled within me the hope for something truly epic and inspired. I had been reading various outcries from die-hard RPG fans and DA:O fans, but since the latter game had disappointed me so these outcries only strengthened my conviction that DA2 might actually be different; and I might actually enjoy it. Not so. Take all the negative comments on DA:O above (uninspired, unimaginative, linear, ugly, repetitive, devoid of actual choice, ....) and multiply them by any factor you may deem impressive, and you have DA2. * The corridors of DA:O have become even narrower and more confining; * The level design is unapologetically lazy (copy-pasted dungeons and caves); * The choice of story-progressing replies has dwindled to a basic three; * The graphics are at a playstation 2 level (although the overall style has improved); * Combat has been dumbed down to a button-mashing fest artificially rendered more difficult with mid-fight enemy spawns (only remotely enjoyable difficulty setting is "nightmare" but as said before the difficulty is artificial); * Kirkwall (where all but the entire game takes place) feels and looks artificial and devoid of any bustle and - indeed - life itself; I could go on and on about how much I have started to loathe DA2, but in the end it really is my fault for pre-ordering a game which promised to be "different" but turned out to be merely "worse". Much worse.…Expand

As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPGÂ´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! ThatÂ´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a ActionAs a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPGÂ´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! ThatÂ´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a Action Adventure/HackÂ´n Slay ? THIS, Dragon Age 2, is the Call of Duty of RPGÂ´s. DA2 doesnÂ´t even deserve to be named a RPG. One Town, No Worldmap, ridiculous characters, a "not so interesting Story", Graphics from 2005 (Hello bioware, we have 2011 now, Even the current console generation hardware is bored to death with this program), really bad environments, no armor management for party mambers and always the same cloned level structures like the dungeons in Oblivion. They oversimplyfied everything in this game. DAII does not make ONE simple point better than part 1. A downgrade all along the line. DA II is no RPG. ItÂ´s a slap in the face of every single person who loves role playing games.…Expand

Interview with the man behind DA:O and DA2's score. Guess what he said in an unrelated question?

"Unlike other titles from Bioware, this score was kind of a rush job. EA really wanted to capitalize on the success of Origins, so the game was really being pushed hard to be released now" My opinion:
Abysmal cookie-cutter, **** fantasy world and characters. Everything is bland, the area's,Interview with the man behind DA:O and DA2's score. Guess what he said in an unrelated question?

"Unlike other titles from Bioware, this score was kind of a rush job. EA really wanted to capitalize on the success of Origins, so the game was really being pushed hard to be released now" My opinion:Abysmal cookie-cutter, **** fantasy world and characters. Everything is bland, the area's, the details, the conversations, the voices, the enemies. This game lacks ' soul'.…Expand

You like to hurt me you know that you do.
You like to think in some way that it's me and not you... but we know that isn't true.
You like to have me jump and be good, but I don't want to do it.
You don't know why I won't act the way you think I should.
You thought they'd make me behave and submit.
What were you thinking? Cause I don't forget.
You don't know why I won't give in, toYou like to hurt me you know that you do.
You like to think in some way that it's me and not you... but we know that isn't true.
You like to have me jump and be good, but I don't want to do it.
You don't know why I won't act the way you think I should.
You thought they'd make me behave and submit.
What were you thinking? Cause I don't forget.
You don't know why I won't give in, to hell with the pressure I'm not caving in.
You know that I got under your skin.
You sold your soul but I won't let you win.
You talk to much, you say I do, difference is nobody cares about you.
You've got all the answers, you know everything, why nobody asked you, it's a mystery to me.
I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
You don't know who in the hell to or not to believe.
I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
You don't who you can trust now or you should believe.
You close you eyes, all well and good, I'll kick your ass like I said that I would.
You tell them stories they'd rather believe, use and confuse them, they're numb and naive.
Truth is the truth hurts, don't you agree?
It's harder to live with the truth about you than to live with the lies about me.
Nobody owes you, not one damn thing.
You know where to put your: "Just shut up and sing."
I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
You don't know who in the hell to or not to believe.
I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
You chose to hurt those that love you and won't set them free.
You don't need anyone else to be sorry for you.
You've got no heart.
You can't see all that you've done for me.
I know the reasons you tear me apart.

If you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die outï»¿ - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge asIf you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die outï»¿ - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge as Baldurs Gate 2 creators.
If DA2 succeeds comercially, this kind of gameplay re-imagining may very well happen to possible Baldurs Gate 3. Just imagine this nightmare - Baldurs Gate 3 : God of War style.

So skip the railroad locations, ugly graphics, nonexistant stats, uninspiring generic characters Dragon Age 2 has to offer - not only for avoiding boredom, but for the sake of brighter future for RPG gaming.…Expand

just because metacritic is paid to give it good reviews (or in this case medicore since it wasn't 99/100) doesn't mean it's any good. i could write a thesis on why the game sucks, but to make it short, it's like they took a time machine and went back to 2002 to develop the game. the storyline, combat, and graphics are horrible. this is a bigger disappointment than fallout new vegas

I have been playing PC RPGs since Ultima 7, so I kind of miss the isometric view.

But that is about all I miss. Love the new combat (yes, you still need tactics to succeed on hard, and there are still a lot of stats to manage). Love the way the story unfolds so far. Love the friend/rivalry system. Love most of the characters. Love the new inventory system. I will say that the "tone"I have been playing PC RPGs since Ultima 7, so I kind of miss the isometric view.

But that is about all I miss. Love the new combat (yes, you still need tactics to succeed on hard, and there are still a lot of stats to manage). Love the way the story unfolds so far. Love the friend/rivalry system. Love most of the characters. Love the new inventory system. I will say that the "tone" dialog system is slightly limiting. I think there should have been a fourth tone option that was neutral without trying to be funny. I can see why some people might be disappointed... this is NOT the same as DA:O. It took me 4-5 hours of playing around in this system to overcome my dissonance and really get into it. But now that I'm into it, this is the most fun I've had with a video game in at least year. Bravo, Bioware!…Expand

Fans of RPGs will find this a huge disappointment. It's falsely-advertised and very dumbed down in order to appeal to a younger audience.

There's little good to be said. And there's a lot of bad things to known. Sadly, truth hurts.
The most noticeable change lies in combat. It's faster, grittier, more responsive and... not very tactical. I kept using the very same tactic throughout theFans of RPGs will find this a huge disappointment. It's falsely-advertised and very dumbed down in order to appeal to a younger audience.

There's little good to be said. And there's a lot of bad things to known. Sadly, truth hurts.

The most noticeable change lies in combat. It's faster, grittier, more responsive and... not very tactical. I kept using the very same tactic throughout the game the whole. 'Cause it was the fastest way to slay my foes. It involved having one melee unit (in this case a warrior specialized in two-handed combat) and 3 ranged units (one, preferably a healer). It's simple. I would let the A.I. control the warrior, he jumped into the fray and did whatever he wanted - Gathering the attention of my enemies. At the same time I would have all my 3 units selected at all times. And order to them to focus fire on the same target and when it dies, move onto the next target. Most often combat lasted less than a minute using this method - It was very dull.

But what about the story? I can tell you it's great, though disappointing. It's a lot like the one in Mass Effect 2. Dragon Age 2 lacks a real [visible] plot. Instead you'll follow Hawke and company for years in the city of Kirkwall. While playing, it will feel like a giant side quest, that contains side quests. It's not too bad, as there's a lot of good moments in the game, some that comes completely unexpected, depending on your relationship to your companions. The ending is however very disappointing and makes the game seem like a pro-logue.

The visuals are mostly dull. There's very little to be seen and the animation is stiff and awkward, which is strange seeing how we've had, and it still is, outstanding animation in games that was released in the early 2000s. And there's a total of 3-4 dungeons in the game that you will be visiting, over and over and over again (in side quests). AND THE BLOOD IS STILL AWKWARDLY APPLIED TO YOUR CHARACTERS FACES.

To summarize the whole game. It traded in the strategic and tactical thinking that Dragon Age: Origins had for a hack'n KITE and some slash game. Story is hidden and it will feel like a side quest, but you'll go "ah" when it's all revealed and probably disappointed. The interactions between you and your companions are better than ever. But even that won't save the game from it's flaws.

5/10. Bioware made the same mistakes in Mass Effect 2. Which you'd think they learned anything from. But it couldn't be further from truth. They are forsaking the RPG players tactical play, characters customization and much more in order to appeal to none-RPG players.…Expand

After having played nearly the entire way through the 1st chapiter (about 12 hrs so far), I am very much enjoying this game. The story is very good (more "the little guy's" quest than DA:O) and the voice acting and dialogue absolutely superb. I'd say the main detractions are the interface and item use is dumbed down, there's a good deal of repetition of areas and what I would describe aAfter having played nearly the entire way through the 1st chapiter (about 12 hrs so far), I am very much enjoying this game. The story is very good (more "the little guy's" quest than DA:O) and the voice acting and dialogue absolutely superb. I'd say the main detractions are the interface and item use is dumbed down, there's a good deal of repetition of areas and what I would describe a empty graphical interfaces (obvious laziness/rush-job here). Overall however, the graphics and animations are much improved over DA:O, especially with the high-res texture pack. Contrary to most posters, I didn't feel penned in being limited to a single city and its periphery: there was enough detail and variation in each space to keep me interested and sticking to some of the same areas gave them a sense of intimacy that the sprawling world of DA:O did not have.…Expand

Waaay overrated and not worth playing. Interface doesn't work well, and as an RPG it really doesn't have anything unique or worthwhile that makes it stand out at all. It has all the bells and whistles that please the critics but do nothing for gameplay once you actually get semi-serious about playing.Unless you insist on playing every single fantasy RPG ever made, save your money here.

So terribly dissapointed. Don't we have enough watered down mainstream games out there? That might even have been okay if this game was a good mainstream game. But its not. It tries to be a hybrid between an action game like God of war and a classical rpg, and it ends up failing at both. The story is also the worst I have seen from Bioware. The story never picks up a main goal and all youSo terribly dissapointed. Don't we have enough watered down mainstream games out there? That might even have been okay if this game was a good mainstream game. But its not. It tries to be a hybrid between an action game like God of war and a classical rpg, and it ends up failing at both. The story is also the worst I have seen from Bioware. The story never picks up a main goal and all you do ALL game is run around in one city and do quests that all feel like side missions. Suddenly the game ends with a bam and a cliffhanger... Not only that but they reuse every dungeon like 15 times, and there are only like 6-7 small dungeons. Any real rpg elements are taken out, you never even get the opportunity to talk your way out of a fight everyone just charge you. If I want an action rpg I will rather play diablo or titan quest.... this is a bad action rpg and it shames the dragon age franchise. I might be a little harsh, its an okay game, but nothing more... don't expect anything.…Expand

Dragon Age 2 is RPG lite. A significant amount of what made the first game, Dragon Age: Origins, endearing has been either removed or watered down. Combat is unfulfilling, it is very difficult to lose. Battles are won by keyboard mashing, not tactical planning. The synergy between the Classes has been decreased, and you are left with the feeling that your party members are onlyDragon Age 2 is RPG lite. A significant amount of what made the first game, Dragon Age: Origins, endearing has been either removed or watered down. Combat is unfulfilling, it is very difficult to lose. Battles are won by keyboard mashing, not tactical planning. The synergy between the Classes has been decreased, and you are left with the feeling that your party members are only following you to provide comic relief. However, even their comedy is no relief. The dialogue in DA II is stilted and the characters are poorly developed. In many cases, the main character's dialogue options are reduced to oversimplified stereotypical one liners. Oh, don't worry if you lack basic communication skills and cannot discern the meaning of simple phrases, DA II tells you when the main character is joking or serious. Bioware no doubt attempted to create something greater than Origins. Sadly, the changes they made to the original were unnecessary or poorly executed. DA II feels like a B-rate movie. After the novelty fades away, you will want your money back.…Expand

Disappointed to see how Bioware decided to move away from the pc fans who made the first Dragon Age a success with this "simplified" installment. I must admit, I dont own any HD console, so I sadly had to play this game on my computer. Had I played on a console I'm sure I would probably enjoy it as I believe was intended by Bioware. Sadly this is just not a computer rpg that Dragon AgeDisappointed to see how Bioware decided to move away from the pc fans who made the first Dragon Age a success with this "simplified" installment. I must admit, I dont own any HD console, so I sadly had to play this game on my computer. Had I played on a console I'm sure I would probably enjoy it as I believe was intended by Bioware. Sadly this is just not a computer rpg that Dragon Age Origins was. Its something else entirely.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Terrible game on all platforms. 2000 graphics, pathetic gameplay, naive,childish story. Just go replay Baldur's Gate 2 (similar graphics) or Duke Nukem 3d (better story) instead and avoid this thing. Not much else has to be said. They've sold out and now cater to the lowest common denominator instead of providing high quality RPGs like they used to. Terrible.…Expand

Chuckwow Mar 10, 20110 You go to the shop to buy milk cos you love milk, and you see a carton labelled MILK 2, wow, that sounds great. Oh, it is, they tell you, look, even the local paper says so. You buy the carton. You go home and pour a suspiciously thin yellow liquid into your tankard, hey, they said it might look a bit different, but it's sure gonna taste even better than milk, so whyChuckwow Mar 10, 20110 You go to the shop to buy milk cos you love milk, and you see a carton labelled MILK 2, wow, that sounds great. Oh, it is, they tell you, look, even the local paper says so. You buy the carton. You go home and pour a suspiciously thin yellow liquid into your tankard, hey, they said it might look a bit different, but it's sure gonna taste even better than milk, so why not? You swirl it round your mouth, glug it down, and savour the unusual taste...before going into spasms and projectilve vomiting in every direction. You do not feel good. You stumble outside choking, saying, my friends, be wary of Milk 2, it really isn't anything like that beautiful liquid we adored. Others, also retching, nod in agreement. Yet in the crowd there are a few strangers wearing "Milk 2 Rules" t-shirts. Where did they come from? "Milk 2 rocks," they say. Just cos it's different from Milk doesn't mean it's the worst liquid you can imagine drinking. But, yes, actually it is.â…Expand

As a sequel to DA:O this is a total let down. It is sad that i pre-ordered it at all. I would have never expected this from BioWare.The game itself is a total console port and I couldn't say anything good about it. Everything is just dumbed down, except maybe dialogues. Totally linear story. You could compare it's graphics to Gothic II. I guess I was expecting just too much. It has noAs a sequel to DA:O this is a total let down. It is sad that i pre-ordered it at all. I would have never expected this from BioWare.The game itself is a total console port and I couldn't say anything good about it. Everything is just dumbed down, except maybe dialogues. Totally linear story. You could compare it's graphics to Gothic II. I guess I was expecting just too much. It has no similarity to DA:O but if you like action rpg's you might like it and if you loved DA:O, just don't bother. RIP BioWare and old-school rpg's.…Expand

I'm too tired to be angry any more...Now I'm just sad. It's fun...kinda. But it is a gesture of disloyalty to the avid fans of Bioware. It's basically Dynasty Warriors meets the Dragon Age Universe. And the lore IS the absolute only reason I'm playing this game. I'm going to hold out on condemning Bioware. They are my favorite gaming company and I really hope they get the message that theI'm too tired to be angry any more...Now I'm just sad. It's fun...kinda. But it is a gesture of disloyalty to the avid fans of Bioware. It's basically Dynasty Warriors meets the Dragon Age Universe. And the lore IS the absolute only reason I'm playing this game. I'm going to hold out on condemning Bioware. They are my favorite gaming company and I really hope they get the message that the people who have been buying their games year in year out are hurting right now. I understand companies make money, that's what they do but this is not going to gain them the popularity vote. I mean, Jesus Christ look at the damn user metacritic score! Hell, look at the critic score, 8.3 for a contemporary Bioware game? That's the first time in a while that a Bioware game wasn't automatically slated for a nomination in all of those RPG of the year titles. Truth is, I love you Bioware...And I have to believe that you won't cheat on me with those Australipithicene Afarensis console gamers anymore but...OH MY GOD YOU'RE A WHORE!!!! (crying ensues)…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Its hard to make a game worse than this nowadays. Any decision-maker who played this and approved it for release has either the wrong job or was under heavy pressure, or maybe he had a moment of silly or was on drugs, or both. Maybe they just wanted to deliberately piss off their user-base and destroy their image, forever. Goodbye forever.…Expand

This game feels like Madden in the way that Bioware and EA didn't care enough about it to simply cut and paste from other games (DA:O and ME2). Then they dumb it down for kids (who really shouldn't be playing games like this anyway). I really feel like EA is responsible for this tragedy of a game in every way. Like all of EA's other hit franchises everything is cut and paste with only theThis game feels like Madden in the way that Bioware and EA didn't care enough about it to simply cut and paste from other games (DA:O and ME2). Then they dumb it down for kids (who really shouldn't be playing games like this anyway). I really feel like EA is responsible for this tragedy of a game in every way. Like all of EA's other hit franchises everything is cut and paste with only the character roster being different... Except in DA2 here they couldn't actually cut and paste from DA:O to get a "working title" (words used very loosely) complete (another word used very loosely) in a year. Expect the same sort of thing for Dragon Age 2012: Hall of Fame edition. I should have known EA would do something like this... they are the worst "big" game publisher that exists and franchises they have done games for have tanked worse for every sequel - like what they did to 007 games. Anyone here actually like 007: Double agent? That game was a bad sequel, but DA2 is even worse. It's like their only goal was to ride the coattails of the first game and essentially kill the series to make money. Here's my advise to you EA. Make games that are actually good and build up a good customer base. Then when it's sequel time do what Valve has done for Half-Life 2 ep.3. Take all of the time in the world to release a sequel that's actually BETTER than the first one. DA2 just is plain awful. I will be wiping the spit that was a $60 purchase off my face for a long time. Just wait, soon there will be DLC that will make this game more like DA:O and will cost you another $60. Pathetic!…Expand

If you are fan of Mass Effect, then you will love it, like me. Bio ware you are best.
Dragon Age 1 path to 2 part looks like Me1 to Me2. Many people forgot that is rpg means Role Play Game, when you play a role with your decisions in dialogs.

As a side note before I start this, NO, this game did not live up to my expectations, but I am trying to judge this game as a standalone, and not as a successor to DAO. We should look at "What is" instead of "What could have been" or "What's not".

Anyways, first and foremost, i'm not a fan of the gameplay change in the slightest. Too point-and-click-esque for me. Some people like thatAs a side note before I start this, NO, this game did not live up to my expectations, but I am trying to judge this game as a standalone, and not as a successor to DAO. We should look at "What is" instead of "What could have been" or "What's not".

Anyways, first and foremost, i'm not a fan of the gameplay change in the slightest. Too point-and-click-esque for me. Some people like that play style, but I certainly don't. The combat is fun but simple. Not complicated, not intricate, not detailed, just simple.

The graphics are fine. They could be a little bit better, but I'm not letdown or anything by them.

The dialogue is just morbidly terrible. It seems like they spent about 2 seconds writing each of the lines without even brainstorming or giving them any thought (AT ALL!). They are really shallow; you can tell almost no thought was put into it.

The CGI is cool I guess. A little much of it, but when i'm high it gives me something to look at.

All-in-all, not a game I connect with at all, but fun for a short amount of fun before I move into something more enthralling.…Expand

Really, bioware? Really? This is a disaster, and such a step back for Dragon Age (and RPG's in general).The game is still buggy, and graphics are just lazy (don't know how they look on high resolution pack, hope the people who have two polygons on their faces now have at least 4), I'd like to review music, but there is NONE. At battle is rarely noticeable, but if not in battle all youReally, bioware? Really? This is a disaster, and such a step back for Dragon Age (and RPG's in general).The game is still buggy, and graphics are just lazy (don't know how they look on high resolution pack, hope the people who have two polygons on their faces now have at least 4), I'd like to review music, but there is NONE. At battle is rarely noticeable, but if not in battle all you have is silence.Bioware stated that FF 13 was not really a RPG, because you can't really feel like the character, or make any important choices (which I agree with, don't get me wrong.)... and what happens with Dragon Age 2?You have already a character chosen for you, the only option you get is how he looks and what is his/her gender. While in first game you could choose between races, multiple backgrounds, and really feel like it's a character YOU created. Now we just get someone we don't know, we're supposed to care about him and his lost home and family, even though we didn't get to know them more for a minute.And the whole dialogue dumbed down to basically 3 choices? How is that an improvement? Not like the choice really matters story-wise anyway, so what bioware just accused of in another game, is doing itself to Dragon Age. What a shame.Dumbed down RPG with one-day DLC's and consolized game-play.Sorry, but I have to say no to that.…Expand

A game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA youA game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA you should be ashamed by the lack of imagination it took to create this game.…Expand

I hate 'simplification' and 'dumbing down' - this game is the epitome of that.

If you loved DA:O you will HATE this game. If you loved ME2 you will probably love this game.
Made for unintelligent morons, like most games, unfortunately there are dramatically more morons than intelligent people - so Bioware is going to make a lot of money, and smart people no longer can trust Bioware.
IfI hate 'simplification' and 'dumbing down' - this game is the epitome of that.

If you loved DA:O you will HATE this game. If you loved ME2 you will probably love this game.

Made for unintelligent morons, like most games, unfortunately there are dramatically more morons than intelligent people - so Bioware is going to make a lot of money, and smart people no longer can trust Bioware.

In short, waste of time and money. This game has no strong points whatsoever. Graphics is bland, environment is the same everywhere, at first interior of some houses looks nice but it becomes tedious cos you run through the same looking rooms over and over again (~20 or so times, not kidding). Dialogues are dumb and options you chose rarely change outcome. Quests are the worst I have everIn short, waste of time and money. This game has no strong points whatsoever. Graphics is bland, environment is the same everywhere, at first interior of some houses looks nice but it becomes tedious cos you run through the same looking rooms over and over again (~20 or so times, not kidding). Dialogues are dumb and options you chose rarely change outcome. Quests are the worst I have ever seen in a RPG. Even free to play MMORPGs have better quests than DA2. Battles are nice till you notice that mobs spawn like in some arcade game... You won't have to control your companions so tactics is pretty much gone. They had to stick with Hawke and ditch other 3 party members from the game entirely. Action game fans would have loved that even more! So yeah very bad game, Sadly It has way more weak points than I've mentioned in this review...…Expand

Less depth, less of a story, less of a game. Half of what the first game was. Went the hack and slash route and eliminated a lot of the RPG features within the game...If it did not eliminate them, they altered them in a "dumbed down," way. It seriously seems the creators catered to a whole new customer and I'm curious to see if this trend continues. I'll be one sad panda if this trendLess depth, less of a story, less of a game. Half of what the first game was. Went the hack and slash route and eliminated a lot of the RPG features within the game...If it did not eliminate them, they altered them in a "dumbed down," way. It seriously seems the creators catered to a whole new customer and I'm curious to see if this trend continues. I'll be one sad panda if this trend continues from this type of developer.…Expand

DA2 confirms the turn taken with ME2, this does not reassure the future of RPGs from this studio. Bioware is a turning point in its history, abandoning his philosophy to produce evoluted PC games for simplified console games (it is their right, no worries on that point, but Bioware must not hide behind the notion of RPG who died in this game).

DA2 is not an RPG, the story isDA2 confirms the turn taken with ME2, this does not reassure the future of RPGs from this studio. Bioware is a turning point in its history, abandoning his philosophy to produce evoluted PC games for simplified console games (it is their right, no worries on that point, but Bioware must not hide behind the notion of RPG who died in this game).

DA2 is not an RPG, the story is transparent, the city of Kirkwall is almost empty, spaces are duplicated (for reasons of economy ? Why ? It's a shame for this great studio), poor gameplay and poor level graph, strategic and tactical disappear, it is not worthy of Bioware (the bitter feeling of having a game not finish â…Expand

I so wanted this game to be great. Sadly there is NOTHING good in it. The characters are bland, Kirkwall is a ghost town with nothing interesting happening. Still it would have been great to at least see the same great quests from Dragon Age Origins(i bought 2 copies of it btw) that same great dialogue. None of that is found in Dragon Age 2. What is found then you might ask:

Well in aI so wanted this game to be great. Sadly there is NOTHING good in it. The characters are bland, Kirkwall is a ghost town with nothing interesting happening. Still it would have been great to at least see the same great quests from Dragon Age Origins(i bought 2 copies of it btw) that same great dialogue. None of that is found in Dragon Age 2. What is found then you might ask:

Well in a nutshell:

- Copy pasted combat. I am not kidding. Almost ALL fights are like this: one main strong monster, a few archers, a few melle combatants. 20 seconds into the fight more monsters show up.
- Copy pasted dungeons. You will find a lot of very familiar areas after about 2 hours.
- Bad voice acting.
- Uninteresting quests that involve nothing but combat. The game plays so bad it's impossible for me to find anything good about it. It is an amazing devolution of what Dragon Age: Origins was.

Very boring gameplay your in the same location for most of the game i got very bored of the fighting tactics very quickly it is simply not an RPG it is more of a hack and slash game very linear paths to follow dumd down dialogue wheel like mass effect 2 cant change your parties armour like the first game no over head camera all in all this game is no were as good as the first game veryVery boring gameplay your in the same location for most of the game i got very bored of the fighting tactics very quickly it is simply not an RPG it is more of a hack and slash game very linear paths to follow dumd down dialogue wheel like mass effect 2 cant change your parties armour like the first game no over head camera all in all this game is no were as good as the first game very dissapointed.…Expand

I am a fan of the RPG genre and played the original, albeit lightly, the improvments over the first are noticable. The Stories frequent options for pathway choice is great and the option to take more playable characters that fit the expanding story succseed where the originals story based around none playable characters. I think the combat is tons of fun and works very well all around.I am a fan of the RPG genre and played the original, albeit lightly, the improvments over the first are noticable. The Stories frequent options for pathway choice is great and the option to take more playable characters that fit the expanding story succseed where the originals story based around none playable characters. I think the combat is tons of fun and works very well all around. There is the issue of SO MUCH day one DLC, 2 expansion missions, and a checklist of downloads some free, some only for buyers of other EA games. All in all that doesn't change that fact the combat is the core and done exceedingly well!…Expand

Dragon Age Origins was simple, but good RPG. Dragon Age 2 just parody on Japanese-style slasher with elements RPG. Take Dragon Age 1 cut interesting dialogs, cut D&D-style universe, cut armor and you have Dragon Age 2. I really love Fallout 1,2+NV, BG, NWN2, Planescape and Dragon Age 1. After Dragon Age 2 i have only one question. Why they did this to us? Disappointment.

It`s not RPG. Primitive 2004 graphics, primitive linear locations, primitive dialogues, primitive slasher, uninteresting gameworld, uninteresting story, primitive 2-button gameplay for idiots... BioWare is now very fond of money, but do not like their gamers. This game is a clear example on how a company maximizes profits and minimizes costs using a brand name. Money, money, money... TheIt`s not RPG. Primitive 2004 graphics, primitive linear locations, primitive dialogues, primitive slasher, uninteresting gameworld, uninteresting story, primitive 2-button gameplay for idiots... BioWare is now very fond of money, but do not like their gamers. This game is a clear example on how a company maximizes profits and minimizes costs using a brand name. Money, money, money... The love of money has killed real RPG.…Expand

Dragon Age 2 just parody on Japanese-style slasher with elements RPG.Roleplaying completely absent, the dialogues are boring, dull one type lokatsii.Eto just soulless piece of code on which I wasted attention and spent their hard-earned money.

this game is mass game culture triumph:1..all game aspects are simplified - EA has to attract mass consumers2. game was made really fast - productivity is important3. Just about everything in this game feels as being below average due to above-mentioned; Playing this game is like eating Mcdonadl;s junk food; how about new term for this type of games - Mcgame? RIP Bioware

It would be nice to say that Dragon Age II fell short of lofty promises and unrealistic expectations for a sequel to a quite successful game. It would be nice to say that, but DA2 is in every sense of the word rushed, and oozing focus-group driven development. DA2 is to RPGs what a mockup of Avatar done in Poser would be to film: an anaemic, shallow, mass-market appeal piece of shlock thatIt would be nice to say that Dragon Age II fell short of lofty promises and unrealistic expectations for a sequel to a quite successful game. It would be nice to say that, but DA2 is in every sense of the word rushed, and oozing focus-group driven development. DA2 is to RPGs what a mockup of Avatar done in Poser would be to film: an anaemic, shallow, mass-market appeal piece of shlock that also happens to look like crap. The same four (count em, four!) different dungeons will be trawled through the entire game, with some minor variations in which doors are hard-locked. The enemies are similarly monotonous and repetitive, coming in three types: basic, auto-attacking warriors and archers, and spellcasters that will hang back. No difference in behaviour or special abilities seem to exist between the different species of monsters. Fighting the same endless waves of spider-people and dwarf-orc "run up and attack" monsters with no variation quickly dulls the mind, which is almost comforting given the writing, setting, and level design. The encounters in which these brilliant tactical AIs are presented consist of copy-pasted waves of monsters spawning from nothing, ad nauseaum. The levels are incredibly linear, and one quickly realizes anything resembling an open area will probably just mean lots of spawns of identical mobs before trundling down the next corridor. Despite being a triple-A title from a star studio, the game manages to look like Poser models battered in jaggies and fried in tones of brownish-red low-res textures. The "Push button; receive Awesome", fun-finds-you game design leaves little or nothing to the player's imagination or skill. The dialogue is offensively cheesy, even by generous RPG standards, and the ridiculousness and awkwardness of the romances and massive out-of-place gazongas on ancient crones and tiny elf women speak to state of mind of the writers and who they were writing for. Maybe Bioware is too high on a decade's success to realize they too are capable of producing trash when churning out the most tepid, repetitive, cash-in sequel imaginable in as little time as possible. Maybe the blog posts by senior designers about the old staff not being on the project and the design going entirely another way tell the story. Either way, leaving aside the questions of developing for consoles and DLC, leaving aside expectations from old-school RPGs: Dragon Age II does not stand on its own as an RPG. It is a dull slog and a massive failure of a game. Save your money and please, vote with your wallet. Keep your hopes up for the Witcher 2 and Deus Ex 3 for quality franchise RPGs in 2011, but give DA2 the widest possible berth.…Expand

Thanks bioware for selling out and appealing to the mass majority of younger gamers. The addition of many scantly clad characters does well in appealing to 13 year olds. The over the top exploding gore and wildly unrealistic combat is also good at catering to the wants of hyperactive anime fans with ADHD everywhere. When I played this at a friends house I felt like I was playing a specialThanks bioware for selling out and appealing to the mass majority of younger gamers. The addition of many scantly clad characters does well in appealing to 13 year olds. The over the top exploding gore and wildly unrealistic combat is also good at catering to the wants of hyperactive anime fans with ADHD everywhere. When I played this at a friends house I felt like I was playing a special exclusive version of god of war made only in japan but featuring a different protagonist 'hawke' the man who can swing a two handed sword with 1 hand like it was a tin butter knife. (Of course god of war was actually an action game, not an "RPG" trying to be one). Did you like the tactical challenge of nightmare in DA:O? Well we don't have any of that boring tactical crap anymore! No thinking and planning required! Just mash those buttons hard enough and you can overcome any battle! If you're really have trouble just grab your keyboard/controller hold it high and shout "Super sayian button mash activate!!" then proceed to repeatly smash the keyboard/controller into your desk/tv/monitor/friend (Maybe he'll explode into a blood mist like in the game!)

Whats next? Dragon Age 3: Path of the vampire god of war. Featuring cloud from ff7 and sepphiroth fighting together in their latest adventure to stop the twinkling vampire god edward (yeah twilight) from his vampire darkspawn invasion. Also featuring full frontal nudity from all your favorite ff7 and DBZ characters. If you buy the special naughty DLC for only $70.00 you can get breast enlargements to EEE+ (up from just DDD) for every female character and you get kagomai from inyuyasha as a new tag along sex slave companion.

Again thank you bioware. I remember when you made RPG's like Baldur's Gate, but you're right! Why make a good game when you can make GOOD MONEY!!!!…Expand

People you are not right dragon age 2 is a very good game and an excellent continuing of first part. I agree that this game is a bit different and not like the Dragon Age but you must know that Bioware is doing all the best to give pleasure to players and I think we should accept Dragon Age 2 how it is.

Great game so far! For the equipment customization options we have lost we got much more developed and usable skill tree's and a major graphics overhaul if you have the rig for it. The combat is fast and exciting, maybe a little too fast, and the animations are a nice change from the clumsy puppet show motion of the last one. The tatics screen is far better worded and actually useful. TheGreat game so far! For the equipment customization options we have lost we got much more developed and usable skill tree's and a major graphics overhaul if you have the rig for it. The combat is fast and exciting, maybe a little too fast, and the animations are a nice change from the clumsy puppet show motion of the last one. The tatics screen is far better worded and actually useful. The downside is your toons seem to be overly dependent on it to actually trigger any of their skills. My tank lady absolutely refused to used shield slam till I scripted it in. My only complaints are so far it has seemed very on rails (3 hours in), almost as much movie as game. And in cities its frustrating having to run around with you tab key held down so you can actually find the vendors etc. The inventory screen is reminiscent graphically of x-com and looks slightly rushed to market.…Expand

With Bioware rigging the user reviews, you can't help but think they're rigging the critic reviews as well. Bioware was already caught rigging DA II's user scores on Metacritic by having employees give it good scores. Bioware's response was that it was the same thing as Barrack Obama voting for himself.

Anyways, about the game. It targets a larger audience by dumbing things down but losesWith Bioware rigging the user reviews, you can't help but think they're rigging the critic reviews as well. Bioware was already caught rigging DA II's user scores on Metacritic by having employees give it good scores. Bioware's response was that it was the same thing as Barrack Obama voting for himself.

Anyways, about the game. It targets a larger audience by dumbing things down but loses its original audience it once had. You stay in the same area for most of the game, the dialogue wheel is incredibly limited, and the voice acting isn't very good. Dragon Age II went from being a strategic form of game to more of a Devil May Cry clone without the fun that DmC had.

I'm not hugely far into the game. I haven't experienced all it has to offer. But I played DA:O for ~30-40 hours before I just gave up on it. I didn't like it, playing on PS3. DA2 so far is just a much more fun and smooth experience. I have a fairly high end PC (two 5850 in crossfire) but it plays great at 50-60fps with DX11, all options on, Very High detail, and the HD texture pack. No lagI'm not hugely far into the game. I haven't experienced all it has to offer. But I played DA:O for ~30-40 hours before I just gave up on it. I didn't like it, playing on PS3. DA2 so far is just a much more fun and smooth experience. I have a fairly high end PC (two 5850 in crossfire) but it plays great at 50-60fps with DX11, all options on, Very High detail, and the HD texture pack. No lag or crashes yet. If I set it to 4xAA I can record video just fine (which I'm doing) above 45fps. The funny thing about some of the negative comments is they comment on the convo wheel sucking then also praise former BioWare RPGs. Apparently they never heard of Mass Effect... Anyway while it's hilarious that some fanboys or whatever they think they are decided to negative bomb this game, it's definitely worth picking up. If you're on the fence just go check out some Let's Play videos and decide for yourself. I'll be uploading my stuff to YouTube on the weekend (TheWolfram23).…Expand

Very disappointed in this game. While DAO was a real masterpiece for me, this game can offer nothing from what I liked in a firt part. Developers went to simplify everything. Skills, dialogues, spells, talents, inventory, everything! Game become more console-orientated. "Dynamic fighting" seems terrible for me. Plenty of monsters spawning all around. I could forgive part of these things,Very disappointed in this game. While DAO was a real masterpiece for me, this game can offer nothing from what I liked in a firt part. Developers went to simplify everything. Skills, dialogues, spells, talents, inventory, everything! Game become more console-orientated. "Dynamic fighting" seems terrible for me. Plenty of monsters spawning all around. I could forgive part of these things, but not for Bioware. This game is not worthy to stand along with previous company products.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Being a fan of both Dragon Age Origins and the Mass Effect series I looked forward to this release with glee, but after completing Dragon Age 2 I am sorely disappointed with it. While at first the faster game play while in a battle was refreshing by the end of the game each battle felt hollow, in comparison with Origins each battle requires much less thought or strategy and I would often find myself simply pressing the same combination of number keys at the start of a battle, using a health potion if needed then repeating the same actions until the game decides weather it would send an additional 8 enemies into the fray after the first group had been dispatched or allow me to continue a quest. The game seemed content to throw a large army at the player simply for walking along a path between quest points and to do so at every possible opportunity, one stretch of road I remember would have taken the players group a mire 30 seconds to traverse unopposed but instead it took the better part of 10 minutes because the group was set upon by a band of undead, short distance up the road another pack of undead would attack and after they had been dispatched a third group of miscellaneous rouges decided there number was being served. I expect a game to throw a large group at the player once in awhile but must a quest involving the retrieval of a herbal plant or an unimportant crystal require the attention of a horde large enough to sack a moderately size town Every Time? The enemies the game presented me with end up not acting the part of a band of rebels or thugs intent on kidnap or slaughter of innocents but as pebbles in the bottom of my shoe, striped of character in my mind by the sheer tedium of having to fight the same groups of 7 or 14 enemies every turn of the corner to finally reach a bag containing ultimately worthless and trivial items. Dragon Age 2 shares more in common with an MMORPG than it does it's predecessor in that you will be spending a large amount of time doing fetch quests like returning a lost piece of clothing or freeing some damsel in distress until you reach some arbitrarily decided point where the main plot is allowed to resume. Dragon Age 2 greatest weakness is in the way it treats the story, while Origins had a somewhat cliche but warm over arching storyline, giving vaguely defined goal that slowly solidifies as you make progress, Dragon Age 2 there was very little to grip my attention or engage my curiosity, the game leads the player forward by glimpses of coming glory told from a future vantage point where the actions the player had taken or had suffered were judged and debated for there merits and sucked all mystery and opportunity of total surprise out the window, you were constantly made aware of what you would become and the story completely skipped so many of the small but vital aspects of storytelling. For those of you that have played DA2 Demo, I felt that the Hawke responded in a cold and matter of fact way to your siblings death no matter which conversation option you pick, that there was lack of effort from some of the voice actors and that sense that the event lacks in gravity never left my mind through the game, Bioware seems to have forgotten how to create realist characters that actually give the impression of life, all the companions conform to one trait of there character at all times, for example one companion will join you as an outcast of their people due to their one core trait and at the end of the game and personal quest line they carry and react the same way they had upon first meeting the player, caring for their people but never says anything if in the course of their quest line you end up killing their people or not, they just feel like a cardboard cutout and unfortunately this is not isolated. As for the main plot itself, I went from one major plot to the next without feeling any real need to do the involved quests because it is hard to feel that my main characters attempt to save up the money to Buy A House (Act 1; Hawke attempts to get on the property ladder.) is worthwhile after running fetch quests for pennies nigh on 4 hours. To boot the ending to the game had me questioning weather or not my characters moral choices had anyway bearing whatsoever on anything at all, aside that it all lead up to what was in essence a promotion for Dragon Age 3. Before this game had I asked myself what was the worse Bioware game I had ever played, I would probably not answer that question very well, And unless Dragon Age 2 is the beginning of a downward spiral, I can answer that question without thinking. fans of Origins story and lore should stay well clear of this game, and to anyone one else I'd say wait for a drop in the price.…Expand

While other loudly shout that the game is failed, i'd say that i loved this game all the way.Some advice for those who are angry about a product - try to judge the game as it is, without a single comparison with DAO, and you will probably like this game, in the same way as i liked that.

I'm giving it a 7 as there are a number of features that improvements over Dragon Age: Origins. Some of those include faster combat, a better spell/talent selection and advancement method, and a voiced player character. There are some other good points as well. Bad points would be things such as a more restricted inventory system for companions, less dialogue with companions one on one,I'm giving it a 7 as there are a number of features that improvements over Dragon Age: Origins. Some of those include faster combat, a better spell/talent selection and advancement method, and a voiced player character. There are some other good points as well. Bad points would be things such as a more restricted inventory system for companions, less dialogue with companions one on one, and a story that doesn't keep you as engaged as the previous game. One thing the PC version really shines on is the graphics. DirectX 11 renderer shows some excellent quality even on high settings with AAx8 and AFx16.…Expand

n DA2 will blow your mind. The dialogue is very poorly written. It reads like a bad harlequin romance novel, something of the grade that you'd find in a trashy teen vampire cash in. The voice work feels dead pan and boring for any non party member NPC and that coupled with the unrealistic fangirl-like writing makes for some truly cringe worthy scenes. One character tries so hard to ben DA2 will blow your mind. The dialogue is very poorly written. It reads like a bad harlequin romance novel, something of the grade that you'd find in a trashy teen vampire cash in. The voice work feels dead pan and boring for any non party member NPC and that coupled with the unrealistic fangirl-like writing makes for some truly cringe worthy scenes. One character tries so hard to be cute, so hard to appeal to the "moe" loving crowd that her lines make her seem borderline retarded. It works with little girls because they are young and the stupidity can be excused. But when a grown woman speaks like a nervous 14 year old and calls swordsmen "sworderers" that "do something with a sword" then you start questioning this person's IQ. The game has the textures of an N64 game and that isn't even an exageration. There are pictures floating around the internet showing the low res (even with the supposed high res pack) of the ground, the buildings and the people most of all. All the NPCs asside from those in Hawke's party and in cutscenes look as detailed as the Happy Mask Salesman from Majora's Mask. This is a bad game. Don't buy the hype…Expand

Pcked this up a couple days ago on Steam, and I have to say that I'm horrified. I liked DA1, although I wasn't terribly impressed but I still enjoyed the game and looked forward to improvements in the sequel. I guess I should have come here first before blindly blowing $60 (can't return it either and if I dispute the charge, my entire steam account is forfeit).

How did a company fall soPcked this up a couple days ago on Steam, and I have to say that I'm horrified. I liked DA1, although I wasn't terribly impressed but I still enjoyed the game and looked forward to improvements in the sequel. I guess I should have come here first before blindly blowing $60 (can't return it either and if I dispute the charge, my entire steam account is forfeit).

How did a company fall so far from producing Baldur's Gate 2, MDK 2, Knights of the Old Republic, and Neverwinter Nights to producing this monstrosity? Already, it's been released with some serious bugs that were simply ignored in development. It has over 20 DLCs on its first day (including a "high resolution texture pack") that should have simply been in the game. Bioware developers said it was because they "ran out of time before the release date". If they were too busy to get basic game items and textures in there, I can see why it has so many bugs in the game itself. It's really sad that they didn't have time to put 1.5 GB worth of content (approximately 30% of the total game size) into the game.

The writing is a bunch of over-the-top tripe that was written by high-school freshmen. The combat has gone from RPG style to a generic hack-n-slash. The story has been neutered beyond belief...

All they needed to do was tweak a couple of things from the first one and this one would have been legendary, or at least passable. But it's like they just gave up; this game has no soul because the developers simply didn't care.…Expand

Baldur's Gate 2 was one of my favorite games. I thought Dragon Age: Origins came close enough to being its spiritual successor as advertised, and I enjoyed that game for what it was, but Dragon Age 2 is as far from being a successor to the Baldur's Gate series as possible. It was just painful to play for so many reasons. Graphically, they somehow managed to make it appear even worse thanBaldur's Gate 2 was one of my favorite games. I thought Dragon Age: Origins came close enough to being its spiritual successor as advertised, and I enjoyed that game for what it was, but Dragon Age 2 is as far from being a successor to the Baldur's Gate series as possible. It was just painful to play for so many reasons. Graphically, they somehow managed to make it appear even worse than its predecessor (not saying DA:O was bad graphically, but it certainly was groundbreaking in that aspect). The combat is now a mindless button masher, obviously tailored to please console players, because it ends up just being frustrating on the PC, only aggravated by the clunky camera. The formulaic dialogue and the cliche story are so inept in this one that it makes me want to stab furniture. Apparently BioWare were just looking for a quick cash-in. I'm definitely not buying Dragon Age 3 when it comes out (and it will, because their greediness knows no bounds).…Collapse

This is ridiculous. The scores metacritic has listed for this game are nowhere near accurate, as evidenced by user reviews. The story is ridiculous... I don't even understand why people are traveling with me. The main quest is short, devoid of story and back-story, and to make matters worse I suddenly am having intercourse with two females at the same time. I don't even know them; I don'tThis is ridiculous. The scores metacritic has listed for this game are nowhere near accurate, as evidenced by user reviews. The story is ridiculous... I don't even understand why people are traveling with me. The main quest is short, devoid of story and back-story, and to make matters worse I suddenly am having intercourse with two females at the same time. I don't even know them; I don't even remember hitting on them.The combat is ridiculously easy, even on Nightmare difficulty. Bosses can be kited (as in, you can run around in circles over and over again and they will never catch you) as your friends continually shoot them, essentially making every boss nonexistent. For combat, all you have to do is rack up as much damage output as physically possible and nuke EVERYTHING. And by everything, I mean waves and waves of random people who are attacking me for reason unknown. I'll just be running a little errand for some guy in exchange for money, and SUDDENLY 50 people will charge out of nowhere to prevent me from delivering an old man his medicine (I made up that scenario as to prevent spoilers).I am not usually one to care about graphics (especially considering I still play 8-bit games), but in all seriousness this game makes me feel like I am playing on a Nintendo 64. And that's not saying the N64 was bad, it's just very old. Every character seems to be colored in a poorly textured splash of blood at all times, and it's just not realistic. Speaking of realism, every character seems to have 100 pound swords that they swing around like baseball bats, which seems a little lame. I'm going to stop here; as I write I am continually lowering the score I am giving this game, and so I should stop before it gets down to 1 for the sake of Bioware.…Expand

I do not typically preorder games, and this game has proven why that is a wise idea. I am of the crowd that thought that Mass Effect 2 was a downgrade from ME1 in the RPG department (but without a doubt a better shooter) and I cannot imagine how anyone who claims to like rpg's will find much of anything redeemable in Dragon Age 2. There is no longer any strategy to combat, no tacticalI do not typically preorder games, and this game has proven why that is a wise idea. I am of the crowd that thought that Mass Effect 2 was a downgrade from ME1 in the RPG department (but without a doubt a better shooter) and I cannot imagine how anyone who claims to like rpg's will find much of anything redeemable in Dragon Age 2. There is no longer any strategy to combat, no tactical camera, no tactical positioning. I would have been much more satisfied with a deeper, involved story based on the DA:O engine. Say a more polished Awakenings with considerably more content. As it is, I wish I could return DA2.…Expand

I can't begin to explain my disappointment in this game. I thought DA:O was one of the best RPG en newer times, and i was hoping they would just fix the few problems the first game had and just continue with excellent story. This is what i think of the new "enhanced game-play"

- They made combat look like a bad hack and slash game, with no real need for tactics. And yes i did play onI can't begin to explain my disappointment in this game. I thought DA:O was one of the best RPG en newer times, and i was hoping they would just fix the few problems the first game had and just continue with excellent story. This is what i think of the new "enhanced game-play"

- They made combat look like a bad hack and slash game, with no real need for tactics. And yes i did play on nightmare- The graphics are even worse than the first game. And yes i did use the high res texture pack- The characters mean nothing to me and has no real background story- The menus and inventory look like crap (no graphics what so ever)- You are unable to use half the gear you find be course you cant equip you team mates- They removed skills from the game (not feats)

This is the worst that they could do to this game. I just don't know what to say. DISAPPOINTED!!!!!…Expand

A far cry from its glistening counterpart. The graphics feel dumbed down and is impossible to not notice all their flaws. The dialogue sounds as if it was written by a fanfic writer, and takes a lot of atmosphere and emotion out of the game. The clunky controls make the game nearly impossible to play. Overall, the game feels very rushed and is more of an open alpha then a genuine release.

Just terrible, it''s just disgusting how Bioware can alienate their audience and call their game a RPG. They removed so much and added so little just so they can appeal to an audience that doesn't care about the genre. The gameplay requires very little, as the generalization of "button-mashing" would come into effect, the graphics are sub-par, there is no excuse for this since they aren'tJust terrible, it''s just disgusting how Bioware can alienate their audience and call their game a RPG. They removed so much and added so little just so they can appeal to an audience that doesn't care about the genre. The gameplay requires very little, as the generalization of "button-mashing" would come into effect, the graphics are sub-par, there is no excuse for this since they aren't going for any kind of art style. The storyline is just terrible, as well as the dialogue making no sense and having no relation with what you chose on the dialogue wheel. There is very little customization, which is what a RPG is supposed to have. The game sacrifices deep and compelling storyline and gameplay for a bloodfest. It's sad to see that Bioware is going this way, and I hope Mass Effect 3 doesn't suffer the same problems if they haven't already.…Expand

You'd think bioware would learn from their mistakes, but apparently they don't. Putting in a mass effect conversation wheel was possibly the stupidest choice they could have made, add a couple of copy and paste dungeons and N64 level graphics and you have yourself the worst game of the year. If they spend half as much money on developing the game as they do on paying of reviewers, theyYou'd think bioware would learn from their mistakes, but apparently they don't. Putting in a mass effect conversation wheel was possibly the stupidest choice they could have made, add a couple of copy and paste dungeons and N64 level graphics and you have yourself the worst game of the year. If they spend half as much money on developing the game as they do on paying of reviewers, they might actually make a decent game.…Expand

I don't want to be rude, but is a piece of ****No one in good shape wastes his time in this Action RPG. Because is not a RPG game, nor a action game.Graphically is mediocre. Some textures are great, the rest, 8 bits.
I think people who said the game is excellent, didn't play as a Warrior.
Did you see how Hawke cuts the air with that sword? First time I saw it, "lol".
For moments II don't want to be rude, but is a piece of ****No one in good shape wastes his time in this Action RPG. Because is not a RPG game, nor a action game.Graphically is mediocre. Some textures are great, the rest, 8 bits.

I think people who said the game is excellent, didn't play as a Warrior.Did you see how Hawke cuts the air with that sword? First time I saw it, "lol".For moments I forgot that it is Dragon Age and I think I'm playing Devil May Cry.

Terrible blend of modern rpg concepts without any of the decision making process being in the hands of the player. The endings are linear and your choices don't really have an impact (choices made in the first game are much more noticeable), the combat is not tactical or fun with just wave after wave of enemies spawning from random locations, and environments are extremely repetitive toTerrible blend of modern rpg concepts without any of the decision making process being in the hands of the player. The endings are linear and your choices don't really have an impact (choices made in the first game are much more noticeable), the combat is not tactical or fun with just wave after wave of enemies spawning from random locations, and environments are extremely repetitive to the point where you will recognize where all of the enemies are and where all of the loot is after 3-4 missions. Bioware is usually an excellent developer but this is very subpar.…Expand

Reasons abound to avoid DA2 and can be read elsewhere. Instead of improving upon and fixing the shortcomings of content in DA:Origins, Bioware cut them out entirely. Gone is the large and varied landscapes. Dungeons are comprised of the same tiles in a limited set, making them all appear to be the same. Character customization was eviscerated. Skill trees are still present, probablyReasons abound to avoid DA2 and can be read elsewhere. Instead of improving upon and fixing the shortcomings of content in DA:Origins, Bioware cut them out entirely. Gone is the large and varied landscapes. Dungeons are comprised of the same tiles in a limited set, making them all appear to be the same. Character customization was eviscerated. Skill trees are still present, probably because they couldn't figure out a way to remove them entirely, but are still stunted. The inventory system, likewise, is worse, and you can't even outfit any party members save your own character - and even that character's customization options are limited. That their lead developer at Bioware left early in DA2's inception is not a coincidence.

EA's (and this Bioware's) new business plan:
-multiplatform development, making the PC versions crippled as they are shackled by the limitations of consoles, -shortened development time and less content to cut costs and rush games to market faster;
- recurring revenue in the form of DLC to keep their hands in our pockets, for content that should have been included in the game, anyway. Don't be fooled by the bloated critical scores. Ethics and game reviewers have very little in common, now. Remember, these are the same critics that gave Civilization V a 90. Most don't dare to score dreck like this fairly, as doing so gets them placed on blacklists that result in no new games to review and loss of advertising dollars. Others are used to having lower expectations from games as they primarily review them for consoles. If you like cRPGS, and quality games with lots of content and great gameplay, avoid this extreme example of consolitis like the plague. Our real vote is with our gaming dollars, and we need to send EA and Bioware a big fat NO to shoddy, stunted games and DLC leeching.

-------------------------------
Just say NO to Preorders
DLC is the Devil.…Expand

I'm a girl and I finished the game so I'll write from my perspective. I like smart games and this one wasn't so smart. The conversations were boring, hardly no wry humour, romance (Hawke and Anders) was rushed. The worst part was that you weren't able to speak to your heroes unless you went to their room AND you were lucky enough to see the yellow arrow above their heads. The tinyI'm a girl and I finished the game so I'll write from my perspective. I like smart games and this one wasn't so smart. The conversations were boring, hardly no wry humour, romance (Hawke and Anders) was rushed. The worst part was that you weren't able to speak to your heroes unless you went to their room AND you were lucky enough to see the yellow arrow above their heads. The tiny conversation was held and then it was just "back to normal". I've played Dragon Age: Origins and I know that they could do better. Srsly, were you saving money on voice actors? I also missed the camp or at least some house where EVERYBODY hangs out.Secondly, I hated how the game felt like an action game. Well, it is. I hated it. It should be an RPG, not Half Life.I hated the ending. There's hardly any continuity of DA:O and on top of all that, there's this unresolved ending. "so this is the story about the champion" - kthxbye. The story feels unfinished. And no, I won't buy the DLCs.Revisiting old locations was boring. The city was awesome with the day/night system, but it was still sometimes boring.The game was too dumbed down. Where was the button for selecting all party members? There wasn't any. I had to hold shift and click every one, which was annoying. Sometimes I selected all members and just clicked on an enemy and waited 2 minutes until they kill him. Boring.I missed the camera from above. I missed being able to equip all party members. Collecting armor was no fun.I liked the cutscenes, the loading screens, the art, the music. That's it. I suggest to Bioware that they merge DA:O and DA2 for DA3, if there will even be one.…Expand

Okay, I've been playing every spare moment I've had since the midnight release and this is a phenomenal title by Bioware. Graphics: if you want max graphics you need a GeForce 500 series card or higher to enable it, or you'll stutter. High is for DX 11 cards and it would only let me have medium with my 240. So more graphic control on the PC with clearer wording on what I can use and what IOkay, I've been playing every spare moment I've had since the midnight release and this is a phenomenal title by Bioware. Graphics: if you want max graphics you need a GeForce 500 series card or higher to enable it, or you'll stutter. High is for DX 11 cards and it would only let me have medium with my 240. So more graphic control on the PC with clearer wording on what I can use and what I can't would have been nice. Reused locales are present and I had thought after ME 1 they had learned to stop rehashing stuff, but then again this game's development time was a fraction of the first titles. The reason? They tell a very specific story in a refreshing 2nd person narrative. Characters all go through development over the title, people who want a challenge: roll with Nightmare. Combat on console: people keep posting about button mashing. It's optional, go into the options and turn on auto attack if you don't like it. Cliffhanger endings: It's BiowareEA, there's going to be a stream of DLC, there's going to be an expansion pack, and there's going to be a GOTY edition. Events from your DA:O game transfer, most of the cast make guest appearances, and the lore is solid. It's clear this is being considered a franchise and that we haven't seen the last of DA or the main character, they've told us from the start what this title is about: one man's rise to fame and glory. BG 2 fan? Tactical view is toast. DA:O was a claim to the past, DA2 is moving forward mainstream style. It's huge, lots of content, lots of choices, fully voiced, and replay value for days with lots (almost all) of the quests that take about 15 minutes or less to complete. Can't choose your race, but you get gender and class. For the casual, you can bring who you want without worry of party balance and still make it through. Inventory: mostly your PC exclusive. Most characters have their own weaponsarmor so you can't outfit their every detail. Micromanagers will be sad, I think that's obvious in the user reviews. I absolutely adore BG2, Neverwinter 2, Witcher, Mass Effect 1 and lived and breathed Mass Effect 2 and DA:O. Hope this review helps/…Expand

Whilst I enjoyed to play the first game whenever I felt to get inside a good RPG I have to admit that my expectations could not be reached by Dragon Age II (PC).

The new combat system feels very reduced and and does not give me the deep feeling of immersion that the first game offered.
I don't even want to talk about the plot writers, which reduced this game's depth to a low I've neverWhilst I enjoyed to play the first game whenever I felt to get inside a good RPG I have to admit that my expectations could not be reached by Dragon Age II (PC).

The new combat system feels very reduced and and does not give me the deep feeling of immersion that the first game offered.

I don't even want to talk about the plot writers, which reduced this game's depth to a low I've never experienced in a BioWare game, I've enjoyed all Mass Effect games, the Baldur's Gate series, Dragon Age Origins, Awakening and several DLC made by this company.

This game however is not even worthy to be mentioned among those gems.

I was failed, please forgive me for this rating, but it's honest. If you enjoy a game where you can engage in romantic liaisons with every character that can't escape your party you should buy it and enjoy the wooden animations. If you seek role playing quality stick to the first game and never touch this one.

I had to return it, sorry my $50 are me more worth than pestering unmotivated developers.

Thus rated 1 with deep disappointment and please don't make any more characters like Tali and Merrill.…Expand

Dear Bio Ware DA2 its abomination.This game horrible! How you can do that so wrong?! This is sheer frustration and misery, after such a successful project you have cut out everything except the engine, and blood, and you think it's worthy sequel? Dear developers,you may suck!PS: With hate.

Baldur's Gate 2 was one of my favorite games. I thought Dragon Age: Origins came close enough to being its spiritual successor as advertised, and I enjoyed that game for what it was, but Dragon Age 2 is as far from being a successor to the Baldur's Gate series as possible. It was just painful to play for so many reasons. Graphically, they somehow managed to make it appear even worse thanBaldur's Gate 2 was one of my favorite games. I thought Dragon Age: Origins came close enough to being its spiritual successor as advertised, and I enjoyed that game for what it was, but Dragon Age 2 is as far from being a successor to the Baldur's Gate series as possible. It was just painful to play for so many reasons. Graphically, they somehow managed to make it appear even worse than its predecessor (not saying DA:O was bad graphically, but it certainly was groundbreaking in that aspect). The combat is now a mindless button masher, obviously tailored to please console players, because it ends up just being frustrating on the PC, only aggravated by the clunky camera. The formulaic dialogue and the cliche story are so inept in this one that it makes me want to stab furniture. Apparently BioWare were just looking for a quick cash-in. I'm definitely not buying Dragon Age 3 when it comes out (and it will, because their greediness knows no bounds).…Collapse

Despite some advancement in storytelling approach and liberal borrowing from Bioware's Mass Effect approach to gameplay, Dragon Age 2 on the PC has a lot of bugs and is populated with re-used settings that make this feel like a play performed on a stage with two sets.

For a rushed product that is still battling bugs, the currently offered product still provides 40 hours of challenging and engaging gameplay. This combines to provide a good, but not great gaming experience.